Knowledge and perception of teachers toward inclusive education in basic schools in Garu District in the Upper East Region of Ghana

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine the knowledge and perception of teachers towards inclusive education in basic schools in Garu District, in the Upper East region of Ghana, in an attempt to draw the attention of stakeholders to the predicament of learners with special educational needs. The proposed study was guided by Vygotsky's social constructivist theory. The study employed a concurrent mixed research design method with targeted participants of 190 teachers and 29 head teachers. The instruments the study utilized were a questionnaire and a semi structured interview. Simple random sampling was used in selecting six head teachers from the basic schools, while a proportional stratified random sampling technique was used to pick 190 participants from five different circuits in Garu District. For the quantitative data, a questionnaire was distributed to teachers in 29 schools across five circuits, while for the qualitative data, a semi-structured interview was conducted with head teachers in their respective school offices. The validity and reliability of the instruments used were assured through peer assessment, discussions with the supervisor, and pre-testing. The quantitative data collected via the questionnaire was coded, entered, and analysed using the SPSS statistical package for social science data-based software, and then translated into frequency tables and pie-charts for better comprehension. The data showed that teachers regard inclusive policy practice to be good as it gives access to learners with SEN to attend their community schools. The perceptions of teachers are generally positive toward inclusive education practice, but how to educate those with disabilities is a major problem. That is because teachers did not have sufficient knowledge of how to include learners with special needs in the regular school system. Furthermore, there were challenges identified that bedevilled successful inclusive practice in the District schools. Such as high enrolments drive with inadequate staffing, lack of furniture, teaching and inadequate teaching and learning resources, among others. The study recommended immediate training of teachers and head teachers on teaching strategies related to special needs education and provision of teaching and learning resources among others, and concluded that, the perceptions of Garu basic schools teachers are generally positive towards including learners with special needs in the regular school system.